Interview

A few years ago Julie Klam wrote a book called "You Had Me At Woof." It was the story of Otto, a Boston terrier that stole Julie's heart and changed her life. Her relationship with Otto helped her to forge more enduring bonds with people. Klam has some very close friendships. Her latest book, "Friendkeeping - a Field Guide to the People You Love, Hate, and Can't Live Without," takes readers inside Julie's world. We meet her dearest friends.

Jasper Fforde is at it again. In "The Woman Who Died a Lot," the seventh book in his absurdist fantasy crime fiction series, we spend a week with Thursday Next, the leading enforcement officer from the Bookworld.

As the story opens Thursday is still recuperating from some of the injuries that she sustained in a previous book when she is offered the gig as chief librarian at the Swindon All-You-Can-Eat-at-Fatso's-Drink Not Included Library.

Julia Reichert joined Niki Dakota on Excursions to talk about the upcoming premiere of the short documentary Sparkle. Reichert is an award winning documentary film maker with her partner Steve Bognar. This latest film tells the story of Sheri 'Sparkle' Williams a dancer with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) and her journey after what should have a career ending injury and the history of the DCDC. Williams has been dancing with the DCDC since she was nine and since then has become central to the company.

The development of the railroad system in America was instrumental in the expansion of the nation that took place during the 19th Century. Without the railroads things might have turned out rather differently.

Christian Wolmar has written extensively about railroads. In "The Great Railroad Revolution," Wolmar's scintillating history of the development of the railroad system in America, readers will discover how this crucial expansion of railroads took place.

In 2012 Dana Halferty returned to her hometown of Des Moines and began working on a new songwriting project. When she went into the studio to record an EP with several other musicians, the songs were fleshed out and Parlours was formed. Now the band has released a full-length album and is heading out on the road to perform a number of live dates, including a stop in Dayton. Halferty spoke with Kaleidoscope host Juliet Fromholt about the evolution of Parlours and what the new year holds for the band.

Parlours will perform at Ghostlight Coffee on October 20th with Kris N.

Russ Kick is the editor of an ambitious project called The Graphic Canon. This three volume series covers classics of literature rendered in an stunning range of graphic art forms.

The series begins at the dawn of literature with the Epic of Gilgamesh. The third and final edition of the Graphic Canon will cover literature of the 20th Century and will be issued next March. In this interview Russ Kick describes how he conceived of this project and then proceeded to bring it to fruition.

It's been a year of ups and downs for Flint Michigan's Calcaska. After going from a four-piece band to a trio, the members have spent time honing their sound in preparation for a busy year in 2013. Lead singer Jeff Gingrich spoke with Kaleidoscope host Juliet Fromholt about the band's plans for the future and the evolution of their sound during 2012.

The years leading up to the Civil War were tumultuous ones. John's Brown's raid on the Federal armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia served as a flash point for what was to follow. Tony Horwitz has delved into this fascinating slice of history with his usual reportorial zest.

Brown was opposed to slavery. Violently opposed. A deeply religious man, Brown's interpretation of the Bible left no doubt in his mind that slavery was wrong. He was willing to give his life for the abolitionist cause. And he was willing to sacrifice the lives of others as well.

It has been five long years since Junot Diaz published his fabulous novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." If you have read that book then you know that near the end of it we learned that Oscar's story was actually being told by his friend Yunior.

Now Yunior is back as the lead character in a collection of stories called "This is How You Lose Her." Yunior is a writer and an incorrigible player. Yunior certainly does love the ladies. And he has no sense of shame.

In this interview Junot Diaz provides some rare glimpses into his creative process.